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Quote by: Osborne F. Enready Well first off, lets get this straight.
Constitutional Rights, are those ENUMERATED in the Federal Constitution, and those rights are only RECOGNIZED, they are not GRANTED. These rights, are determined, and wholly accepted to be inalienable rights, which means all of mankind is entitled these rights, but it is THE INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBILITY to see that they are recognized.
The Constitution is a document that was put in place and ratified, to CLEARLY LIMIT THE GOVERNMENT, IN ITS AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE. It takes the place of a seated King, and all seats of elected officials are SECOND to the WRITTEN WORDS OF THE CONSTITUTION, AS RATIFIED, WITH PROPER AMENDMENTS ATTACHED, AS SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND.
HANDBOOK of AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
by Henry Campbell Black, LL. D. Fourth Edition; West Publishing Company. 1927
Constitution Defined - § 3 . . .
A constitution differs from a statute or ordinary act of legislation in three important particulars:
It is enacted by the people as a whole (that is, by vote of the qualified electorate) who are to be governed by it, instead of by their representatives in a congress or legislature.
A constitution can be abrogated, repealed, or modified only by the power which created it, namely, the people in the sense stated above, whereas a statute may be repealed or changed by the legislature. The people, however, can modify or repeal their constitution only through the medium of a constitutional convention or constituent assembly, or by affirmative vote on amendments or on a new constitution duly submitted by the legislature. In those states where the initiative and referendum are in use, the provisions of the constitution are as binding on the people in the exercise of their legislative prerogative as upon the legislature, that is, these devices cannot be used to alter the constitution in any other mode than as the constitution itself provides. [State v. Dixon, 59 Mont. 58, 195 P. 841; State v. Stewart, 53 Mont. 18, 161 P. 309; City of Ft. Collins v. Public utilities Commission, 69 Colo. 554, 195 P. 1099 ]
The provisions of a constitution refer to the fundamental principles of government and the establishment and guaranty of liberties, instead of being designed merely to regulate the conduct of individuals among themselves. [Constitutions announce principles, while statutes apply them. Sproules v. State, 97 Tex Cr. R. 561, 262 S. W. 757.] But the tendency towards amplification in modern constitutions derogates from the precision of this last distinction.
At present there are at least 51 Constitutions operative in the United States of America. There are the Constitutions of the 50 states of the Union, and the Constitution of the United States. I say "at least" 51 because many of the states of the Union have more than one Constitution. As an example, California has two and Oklahoma had at least six different versions that have been found as of the date of this writing.
As noted above by the famous John Bouvier, a Constitution's essential element is that it is, "…containing the principles upon which the government is founded, and regulating the divisions of the sovereign powers…" You will note that in Bouvier's definition, nothing appears about regulating Citizens. That is because, at least in a free nation, it is The People, in agreement with each other, who create the Constitution for the sole purpose of establishing, defining, and limiting the scope of government.
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government."
-- Patrick Henry
Every state of the Union has a distinct and unique Constitution of its own. Of course if you are a state Citizen, as opposed to a "citizen of the United States" [federal citizen], then you should attempt to locate your state's original Constitution because that's the one that establishes the true and original structure, powers, and limitations of your state government…at least when the state addresses you. [See the Citizenship location within this website for the distinctions between state Citizens and "citizens of the United States".]
All state laws must be made pursuant to the Constitution of the state and all federal laws must be pursuant to the Constitution of the United States. Laws that are manifestly incompatible with the language or intent of the Constitutions are null, void, and unenforceable. While it is commonly understood that a Supreme court of a state, or the United States, will declare a law unconstitutional, most people fail to recognize that the first step in that process is for a Citizen to decide, for himself, that a law is incompatible with the Constitution and refuse to obey the law. In other words, if we never take a stand, all laws will be presumed to be Constitutional. It is only through the belligerent actions of a nation's Citizens that laws are brought under review and then can be judicially declared unconstitutional.
Constitutions must be read and interpreted in plain English. One should take into account the way certain words or phrases may have been used or defined at the time the Constitution was drafted, and how they may differ from the use or definitions now in effect. The use and definitions of words or phrases as they existed at the time the document was written must control the interpretation of the provision(s) under review. Because most pre-Civil War Constitutions are intentionally succinct, significant weight must be given to the intended meaning of each section. If the intended meaning is not immediately clear from the language of the document, the "original intent" can be ascertained by review of the historical context of the issue being addressed and goals that must have been in the minds of the framers of the Constitution as they wrote the words. Usually the authors and signers of a Constitution will have written privately and/or publicly about the document or the various issued addressed within. Such writings have been routinely used to establish the exact meaning of various parts of Constitutions. Additionally, as we enter the 21st century, many of the questions we may ask have already been answered by various Supreme courts.
Constitutions are not "living documents" as is contended by some ignorant and verbose commentators. Because a Constitution defines the structure, powers, and limitations of the government, such elements are fixed, except as such may be altered by the amendment process. When a Constitution includes language that protects personal liberties (sometimes called "natural rights" or "God-given rights"), these provisions must remain in effect, and remain fixed as they are for all time. They are not subject to modification by amendment because no one, not even our fellow Citizens, has the authority to deprive us of our liberty. If the Constitution in question is a Constitution that is operative in America, there is the added aspect that such Constitutions are controlled by the principles espoused in our Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration of Independence it states,
"...all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government."
In other words, if a Constitution was altered in such a way as to diminish personal liberties or remove their protections, then the government constituted by that Constitution would cease to be a valid government and the Citizens would be greatly justified in using whatever means necessary to bring that government to an end.
As our society grows in size, evolves socially, and advances technologically, various issues that have never before been tested upon the Constitution will need to be so tested. It has been this way since the first state Constitution was created and it is still that way today. Fortunately, since the nature of man hasn't changed in thousands of years, the principles contained within these constitutions remains valid and enduring. When all is said and done, the underlying purpose of a Constitution is to keep the ways of men in check.
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Jun 15, 2005, 11:41 pm
